Emperor Penguins

Emperor Penguins

Emperor Penguins like all penguins cannot fly and spend their life on the ground and waddle around for transport. They live a tough life and face many challenges in their journey to the waters edge.

Emperor Penguins have a golden orange neck and a black coat, surrounding their bodies and their face. They also have a white and very fat tummy to keep them warm in the frozen ice of Antarctica.

Emperor Penguins travel in packs for safety and for warmth at night, sometimes at night in winter it can get down to -80 degrees celsius. Emperor Penguins live on ice slopes that melt in summer and then move somewhere else.

Emperor Penguins feed on krill, squid and mainly on small fish, l but sometimes that sadly does not happen because the penguin's predators are hungry as well, Leopard Seals and Killer Whales also known a the Orca take their chance and try to snag a meal.

Once the time is right all the penguins move to this one breeding ground 700 miles from the sea level to their breeding ground. After this long journey the males clap, flap and call the female penguins to try and find a mate. In early June most penguins have found a mate and have a single egg. The males take first feeding shift before winter starts then the parents will swap over and the mothers take the feeding shift and the fathers will need to survive the winter for more than 2 months. They will wait 125 days without food. Meanwhile if the mothers don't make it back the fathers will die or the father will be forced to leave the egg alone in the snow and it will die.

Once the egg has hatched it will need food so the father will cough up a milky substance which will keep the chick alive for a couple of days until the mother returns. The chick soon gains feathers to keep it warm. The chick sits on its fathers feet under a belly of fat that acts an a curtain to keep the chick warm. In the chicks first storm some don't make it and others get taken by a predator. This is devastating for the penguins, if a Emperor Penguin's chick is gone it will make an attempt to steal another's chick. There is always a big ruffle over the fight to steal or steal a chick back.

Finally the mothers shift is over and the mothers are back. The mother gets to see her chick for the first time, its a magical moment. Finally the family is together and after the father will go out and feed himself and the mother will take over.